Ramathorn

Crossing practice starts tomorrow, hopefully

Random thought. Mel’s wording around something to happen in the next few days to help with the transition, he was quite guarded about giving too many clues. Perhaps it’s not just a coach, but perhaps it’s some investment _and_ a coach; lets face it, we’re a pretty attractive investment opportunity with Cocu at the wheel. Now... who was it who earlier in the year was interested in buying a club and supposedly had investment from an unnamed group of investors 🤔

I also don’t get this putting Frank and Chelsea’s agenda before our own. Keeping a good relationship with them (or rather not burning bridges) in the hope to get preferential treatment on loans doesn’t seem like a good reason, especially given how we’ve been strung along up to now; I wouldn’t put my money on Chelsea honouring any “agreements” or goodwill. I can only assume that there’s some further mutual benefit here and that a rabbit is about to be pulled from a hat?

I think that up until today, he had a legitimate excuse to turn up and dismiss the last few weeks as “I don’t get involved in all the speculation, I’m here to do a job for Derby” and irrespective of whether there were unofficial talks or not he would have probably appeased most people and we would have cracked on. The fact that he’s not here today, irrespective of whether it’s Derby’s or his idea, means that we’ve collectively crossed a line. I don’t see a way that he comes back to us and convinces is that he’s 100% committed to the job. I took his silence throughout as simply not getting involved in journalistic bed wetting, but now I just feel that he’s tried to fly below the radar whilst he gets this move. Disappointed.

Is this an elaborate game of chicken? Chelsea happy to keep us dangling, knowing that we’ll have to sort a contingency if we think our managers (and back room teams) mind is not 100% focussed on the job for us - maybe they figure we’ll blink first and let them go without the compo so that we can get our affairs in order whilst preferred candidates are available. Would be a crappy way to treat us, but that would be on Chelsea and no-one else.

Chelsea, Chelsea, I believe, You’ve got another option up your sleeve, We all can focus after you leave, It’s one thing the EFL, another thing the Premier League! du du doo, du du doo, du du doo du doo du doo... https://youtu.be/sEXHeTcxQy4

Was it part of the Jack Marriott deal that we need to check the Peterborough Chairman’s thoughts on everything Derby?

Where’d you hear that?

Derby keen to find replacement for manager who hasn’t left, hasn’t been approached to leave and isn’t going to be sacked 🤔

Yeah, I don’t get this. So are the Times outright making stuff up or is there an “allegedly” or “maybe” in there to cover their bums? If they are claiming it as fact, and it is not, are news outlets just free to print any twaddle they want irrespective of validity? Actually, don’t answer that, I’m sure I know the answer.

That’s quite staggering when you look at it. And to think that 16/17 even managed to squeeze a Mac2 in there as well!

Only one goal in it. Nothing to lose in the second leg so I expect to see us attack it with intent, and we generally get our best results when we do that. Ain’t over yet but like everyone I’m disappointed that we let them have so much of the game without really worrying them.

I bloody loved that game

I agree with this and everything else said about there being contact and therefore it not mattering what came next.... ...so why do I have this uneasy feeling that we’re going to get shafted here, or at least have this drag out long enough to affect preparations

I think it was right that the ref added that much time at the end given the sheer arrogance of the time wasting at times - it was like an “I told you I’d add it on” message to the players that he must have been hinting to them through the game - if this was done more often then I reckon time wasting wouldn’t be so blatant. What’s interesting is that I can’t remember the ref actually booking anyone for time wasting (?); he clearly saw the added minutes as the punishment. I take the point that the added time could have benefited QPR as well/instead, but with these clubs who set out to frustrate and run down the clock I expect that they’d figure that tactic to be less useful if they thought it would just get tacked on the end of the game.